As I entered the hotel room in Windsor and turned on the TV, I was pleasantly surprised to see our handsome compatriot, Arthur Abraham, on the TV screen. Arthur Abraham (Avetik Abrahamyan) is an Armenian-German professional boxer, born in 1980 in Yerevan. The next day I visited Tate Modern, and when I saw “Garden in […]
In Moldova the term Divin (distilled wine) is used to denote a local cognac made by the classical French production process (a method of double distillation of wine in Charentais pot-stills) with obligatory ageing in oak barrels. Since the term cognac is copyrighted by the French, no other nation has a legal right to call […]
Kazakh literature has been presented to British audiences for almost two centuries, but only recently is it really starting to get noticed. Great literature, old and new is coming to the surface of the literary world and with it bringing renewed interest and engagement. One such famous writer is Abai, and many researchers have dedicated […]
Georgia is a land of contradictions, of plenty and of poverty, looking to propel itself into the future by delving into the past. Lingering spectres of the Soviet-era continue to clash against the pressures of modernity as this unique place attempts to shape its identity in the 21st century. As the birthplace of Stalin, an […]
The Turkic peoples of Asia are scattered across the continent, but, being 140 million people strong, hold a potentially powerful latent strength. Turkey, as the most formidable of Turkic nations, has a potentially commanding role in any pan-Turkic co-operation. Such Pan-Turkism is not a new idea; indeed, it has its origins in the final decades […]
Interview: Erlan Idrissov Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United Kingdom AlthoughKazakhstan’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, H.E. Erlan Idrissov, came from a creative and academic background (his father was a renowned Kazakh journalist, writer, and academic), he chose a very different career path. His father instilled in him the belief in the power of words, […]
According to The Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the non-oil sector in Azerbaijan accounted for 36.84 % of GDP in 2019. The traditional reliance on oil and gas has triggered the government to invest heavily in non-oil sectors, including transportation & logistics, tourism and agriculture. In the meantime, priorities and tasks were set […]
After studying Russian at university during the Cold War, John Mark Pommersheim grabbed the chance to go to Moscow as an exchange student when Mikhail Gorbachev was in charge of the Soviet Union. His fascination with cultures, literature and languages in different parts of the world led him to study Russian and Chinese. As a […]
